The Heart Collector by Melinda Salisbury

December 19, 2017     erinthebooknut     Book review

The Heart Collector by Melinda SalisburyThe Heart Collector by Melinda Salisbury
on May 4th 2017
Goodreads

A selection of three companion stories to the Sin Eater's Daughter series. When rats invade golden Tallith, the king summons a rat catcher from across the seas. But the rat catcher brings with him more than just his trade; a beautiful daughter who will bow to no man. And when Prince Aurek decides he wants her, he triggers a chain of events that will reshape the world for centuries to come... A boy wakes up in the ruins of a castle, the prone body of a white-haired man on a bier beside him... He is the Bringer, the Heart Collector, cursed to return every one hundred years to seek out the heart that will wake his father forever. And this time the girl he finds might just be the one... Once upon a time, in a land of gold and glory, a baby boy was born to a beautiful woman, and a wealthy man. His parents called him Mulgreen Grey, and he was destined to live a fairy-tale life; adored, envied, and wanting for nothing. But not every fairytale has a happy ever after...

4.5 Nuts

And I thought I loved Salisbury before… THE SIN EATER’S DAUGHTER was good but THE HEART COLLECTOR is even better. While it’s not a novel, rather a set of 3 short stories explaining the history and tales of the world, it gives exactly the backstory and context to make The Sleeping Prince a so much deeper character.

The King of Rats

This first story contains the origin of the Sleeping Prince, the full story that became the legend that all the characters in this world have told for generations. It tells not only of the Sleeping Prince but of his sister, of the mother of The Bringer, and how they all came to be.

While the Sleeping Prince, Aurek, isn’t a particularly kind or good character, but he’s not the horrible beast the books make him seem to be either. He’s actually a little sympathetic at points, and the character is given so much more dimension by this story.

It’s funny that a pissing contest between two men ends in death and destruction of an entire country. Well, maybe funny isn’t the word.

The Heart Collector

This is probably my favorite story. The Bringer is the most innocent, sympathetic character and it shocks me. He is compelled, but he honestly believes he’s doing right and being helpful as he does so. He believes that The Sleeping Prince’s story can end well, the poor boy is naive as hell.

It’s so different from how I originally imagined the character. Both this and the previous story feature the author completely usurping expectations. I love every second of it.

Mully No-Hands

This is the story I don’t get. At this point I’m only a book and a half into this series but this character seems completely out of the blue. I assume that Mully will be an important character later on.

This is the tale of a long overdue come-upance, a fairytale with a typical moral ending. It also has the benefit of being absolutely hilarious.

Unfortunately this story really doesn’t fit with the others. The first two are a little on the gruesome side, while this one is more funny and instructive. Still, I enjoyed the read. It’s just not one I would come back to again and again.

I loved this little collection, I read the entire thing in about 2 hours from beginning to end (with many interruptions because reasons). The first two stories are ones I would definitely read again and again, almost as my own little alternatives to our own fairytales. They’re more fun for sure.

This collection reignited my interest in the series and now I’m determined to finish the rest of them immediately.

Onwards with THE SLEEPING PRINCE!

What did you think of these stories? Share your own thoughts in the comments.

From my shelf to yours,

Erin

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